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On Monday, Crumbs Bake Shop notified all employees that it would
be closing all 65 stores at the end of the business day, reports
The Wall Street Journal. The
company is now evaluating its limited remaining options,
including bankruptcy.

Crumbs' shop closure comes on the heels of its delisting from the
Nasdaq on July 1. The exchange's decision to force Crumbs to
delist stemmed from Crumbs' failure to meet the minimum $2.5
million stockholders' equity requirement.

Until today, Crumbs was the largest cupcake chain in America.
However, as the cupcake craze has died down, the chain has
struggled in an overcrowded marketplace. In the first three
months of this year, the company's net loss widened to $3.8
million from $2 million the same period a year ago. Sales were at
$9.1 million, down 25 percent from a year ago.

With little hope for the future – Crumbs stated in May that it
expected to record net losses in future periods – the drastic
move of shutting down shops seemed like the only solution.
Indeed, shops were already shutting down on their own accord,
with seven underperforming stores closing in the month and a half
from the end of March to mid-May.

Crumbs, which began as a single bakery in New York City in 2003,
debuted on the Nasdaq in June 2011 at $13.10. When the delisting
announcement was filed on June 26, shares were trading at 23
cents. Shares ended the day on June 30 at 4 cents.

However, even as media outlets cite Crumbs' downfall as a sign of
the end of the cupcake era, competitors are convinced that the
cupcake isn't dead. Some are diversifying: Sprinkles branched
out into ice cream and cookies in May 2012. Others are just
getting started: following three victories on Food Network's
Cupcake Wars, Sweet
Arleen's began franchising last year and believes that the
franchise is on the cusp of national growth.

“Cupcakes are a staple of the dessert landscape in the U.S., and
they’re always going to be,” Georgetown Cupcakes co-founder
Sophie LaMontagne recently told Entrepreneur.com.
Crumbs may have crumbled, but other cupcake stores are confident
that the bite-sized treat will never die.